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Story:Star Trek - Infinity/Chapter 5
---- I entered the senior officers’ conference room; Commander Chekov had asked me to join them for a meeting. As I entered, I saw three of the head staff members sitting at an oval-shaped table in the center of the room. At the head sat Commander Chekov, and on either side of him sat Lt. Cmdr. Forrester and Lt. P’Trell. The commander motioned for me to sit down. “We have discovered the source of the disturbance that’s interfering with our sensors. It’s coming from the planet nearest to where the wormhole closed. The planet appears to be primarily water-based, with some land masses. It’s also Class-M. Unfortunately, the disturbance is also making it impossible to transport down to the surface. Cadet Carver, you and Commander Forrester will be flying down to the planet’s surface to locate where the disturbance is coming from.” I replied, “Wouldn’t it make more sense for Christopher to pilot the shuttle?” Chekov responded, “''Ensign Arch'' and Lieutenant P’Trell are both needed here. Lieutenant P’Trell has also assigned two of his security cadets for protection. You and Commander Forrester will head down to the shuttlebay as soon as you’re ready.” I nodded. Lt. Cmdr. Forrester headed for the door, and I followed. When we entered the shuttlebay, we found three other cadets waiting for us. Denarchia and a Klingon were there, wearing their security gold uniforms, and beside them stood an Andorian girl who wore a sciences green uniform. The five of us entered the shuttle. I sat down in the pilot’s seat and began the startup sequences. ---- After we had found a safe place to land and set down on the planet’s surface, Lt. Cmdr. Forrester split us into two groups. “Cadet Endilev, take Cadets Denarchia and Carver and search that zone over there.” She pointed towards a small area filled with plantlife and vegetation. “Cadet Gro’kog, you and I will be searching that ridge.” She pulled out her tricorder and slid it open. Denarchia and I followed Cadet Endilev as she walked in the direction of the plantlife. As we walked, I asked the question that was burning in my mind, “Cadet Endilev, you’re in the science division, right? Do you know Nicky?” “Yes, I did,” The young Andorian girl replied, “-or rather, I do.” she corrected herself, “Also, you can call me Talas if you like, everyone else does.” I continued, “Did you see her, when…when the lab was destroyed, Talas?” She turned, the look on her face darkening. “I watched it happen. I made it out just before she did. Commander Forrester told me to seal the doors, but I told her that Nicole was still inside. The commander, she…she came over and sealed the doors anyway, and told the transporter room to beam Nicole out. By the time they did, it was already too late; she had already been badly hurt by the blast.” I tried to tell myself that Commander Forrester had probably made the right decision. If she hadn’t sealed the room, the explosion could’ve done damage to other parts of the ship. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel that she was responsible for Nicky’s condition. Denarchia matched my pace. “It was cowardly for Cadet Hollow to insult your race.” I turned to her. “Thanks Denarchia.” She glared at me. “But it was even more cowardly for you to not make her pay for it. You should’ve grabbed her by the throat and threatened to rip out her liver if she ever mentioned your race with disrespect again.” I winced at the suggestion. “I’ll make sure to consider that next time it happens.” Talas called out to us, “Guys, come over here! My tricorder is going crazy; I think I found it!” We rushed over to her as she said, “It’s coming from this direction.” She took a few steps forward, and let out a scream as her foot went through the ground. Denarchia grabbed her and pulled her up as we stared down at the spot where she had been standing. The ground flashed, and with sudden amazement I realized that it was merely a holographic projection, revealing for a moment an area below it. Talas tapped her combadge, and it chirped. “Cadet Endilev to Commander Forrester.” There was a pause, and then the Commander’s voice replied, “Forrester here; did you find the source of the disturbance?” Talas answered, “I believe so. There’s a holographic projection hiding an area below it. My tricorder is detecting some sort of transmitter below it.” Forrester replied, “Alright, stay put, we’re heading to your position.” A few minutes later, Forrester and Gro’kog arrived. The commander looked down at the patch of ground, and gave it a tap. The field crackled again, revealing a passage below it. She turned. “Gro’kog, stay here and keep watch, if we don’t check in, contact the Infinity and tell them to send another landing party.” The Klingon nodded, and the commander stepped through the holographic projection. We followed the commander downwards, and pulled out our floodlights so we could see the passage ahead of us. We followed the passage, and it led us downwards until we came to a larger chamber. I gasped; we had entered a massive room, at least a few kilometers high. But what amazed me most was what stood in the center; a pentagon-shaped structure, at least a few centuries old by the look of it, perhaps even older. ---- As we reached the surface again, Forrester tapped her combadge. “Commander, we’ve discovered what may be the source of the disturbance. I recommend we land the Infinity on the planet’s surface so I can have all of the ship’s advanced equipment at my disposal.” A voice replied, laced with static, “Acknowledged, we’ll see you soon Commander.” Even the communications seemed to be weakened by the disturbance. ---- I watched the Infinity hover above the ground, and the blue alert lights flashed as the four landing feet were extended. I figured I wouldn’t be much help to the science team, so after receiving permission from Lt. Cmdr. Forrester, I decided to visit Nicky. I stepped through the automatic doors that led to sickbay, and headed over to the biobed that Nicky was lying on. She looked much better than the last time I had seen her. Her tattered green skant had been replaced by a clean white patient’s gown, and the burned part of her hair had been trimmed away. The computer that was monitoring her brain functions was a lot steadier now, as was her heart rate. The Bajoran ensign that I had met the previous day walked over. “She’s doing much better today. At this rate, she’ll be back on her feet in a couple of weeks.” I smiled at the thought, but then my eyes drifted to the bed next to Nicky’s. I walked over, and looked down at Lieutenant Tabora. Her uniform had also been replaced by a white patient’s gown. Her face was very pale and sickly, a stark contrast against her dark blue hair and spots. Her breathing was heavy and uneven, and her heart beats were very far apart. The Bajoran woman came and stood beside me, and I said, “She doesn’t look very well.” The ensign replied, “She’s had a rough day, Dr. Layn had to operate on her this morning.” A voice came over the comm speaker, “Attention all hands, this is Commander Chekov. All cadets and officers, please report to the officers’ mess.” I turned to the Bajoran Nurse, and she said, “Don’t worry, you go ahead, I’ll stay her and keep an eye on them.” I nodded and headed down the hallway towards the turbolift. When I arrived, I found most of the ship’s crew and cadets already there. Commander Chekov and Lt. Cmdr. Forrester stood at the front of the room. I looked around and decided to sit by Talas, the Andorian cadet I had talked to down on the planet. As I sat down she whispered, “We discovered the source of the disturbance was a jamming device left on the planet by an ancient civilization to ward off any unwanted visitors. We managed to disable it, so sensors and transporters are back online.” I opened my mouth to ask Talas something, but I closed it as Chekov began to speak. The commander spoke in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, “We’ve successfully located and disabled the jamming device, thanks to Commander Forrester and her team. With sensors back online, we’ve managed to pinpoint our location,” He paused for what seemed like an eternity as everyone waited in suspense, “We are in the Beta Quadrant, 12 years distance from the nearest Starfleet outpost.” The room erupted into chaos, some people murmured quietly to their neighbors, while others wailed. After a few minutes, Chekov managed to quiet everyone down again. “But regardless of this fact, I am determined to bring this ship and all of its crew safely home. We will begin traveling at maximum warp. Since the ship can’t maintain warp 9 at all times, along the way we will do what we were born to do: Explore the universe we live in, gain knowledge, seek out new forms of life, and all of this, we will do boldly, as we go.” Chekov tapped his combadge. “Mr. Arch, set course for the Alpha Quadrant, warp 8.” Christopher’s voice replied, “Course plotted and laid in sir.” Chekov answered, his voice so loud and clear that everyone on the entire ship could hear, “Mr. Arch, Engage…”